Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) has reaffirmed his tough approach to asylum, vowing to continue deportations to Syria despite resistance from humanitarian groups and recent intervention by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), as reported by Austrian News Agency APA.
Karner told Der Standard that roughly 5,500 asylum cases involving Syrian nationals from the past five years are being reopened to reassess whether deportations are possible. He insisted this applies not only to criminals but to broader groups, citing assurances from Syria’s own interior minister that the country is “more stable than some think.”
The minister also emphasized curbing family reunification, saying current quotas could “begin at zero.” Speaking on ORF radio, he defended restrictions by pointing to overstretched public services, particularly schools in Vienna.
Karner went further, suggesting parts of the European Convention on Human Rights should be reinterpreted or even rewritten to reflect “today’s realities,” noting the convention dates back to the 1950s. His remarks followed an ECHR ruling last week that blocked a deportation to Syria. He also rejected a UN request to investigate the fate of a man already deported.
Criticism has been swift. The opposition Freedom Party (FPÖ) accused Karner of empty posturing, claiming he delivers little despite presenting himself as a “hardline deportation minister.” FPÖ interior spokesman Gernot Darmann mocked the minister’s “summer theater” and rejected Karner’s assertion that the party opposes police powers, calling the charge politically manipulative.
Karner’s remarks underscore a growing clash between Austria’s government, European institutions, and rights organizations over asylum policy — with the minister showing little sign of softening his stance.
